An Old Pair Of Shoes

New York City 1970, lower west side Manhattan.  About 3:30 in the morning.  I didn’t have anything to write on so I used a paper bag.  

I met a young girl who sat on a step
I saw her quite clearly quite early one night
I spoke the first words that came to my head
she sealed my fate when she answered “all right”

she looked quite old though she was younger than I
and I asked her how many like me she had seen
“I never counted” she said with a grin
I looked at my hand said I see what you mean

I heard her say as the night was wearing thin
and she printed my name on the bottom of her shoes
“all those who pass by they can never win
but those who come in they can never lose”

there are many fine seas to part with your hand
and many fine roads if you know how to choose
to some it’s a chance at the ax of the queen
but to one it’s a name on an old pair of shoes

Release:  A Shot Of The Usual, I See What You Mean (Nashville), Human Interesting (retrospective)

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